Insulae Conditions In Ancient Rome

Throughout history many civilizations and empires have been considered great. The greatest empire ever was Ancient Rome. Starting in 509 B.C.E and lasting until 476 C.E (Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity, 1000 BCE–500 CE,). Ancient Rome started off as a small town on central Italy’s Tiber river and ended up expanding all the way to most Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, Northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands (Ancient Rome). Ancient Rome helped spread many languages, the western alphabet, the modern calendar and the religion of christianity all around the globe (Ancient Rome). They are the most powerful and dominating empire throughout history. Ancient Rome was the greatest empire throughout history.

If you were a poor Roman citizen living in a Roman city, chances were you were living in a cramped apartment building know as Insulae . The vast majority of the people living in Roman cities lived in cramped insulae which were generally three to five stories

The Roman empire lasted from 700 BCE until 476 Ce, and incredible 1,176 years. But how did Rome fall? Some say political squabbling. Others argue invasions. However, the downfall of Rome was due to military problems, and natural disasters. Earthquakes brought buildings to the ground, while illnesses killed thousands of innocent people. Also, the military was losing it’s edge. They decided to become lazy, beginning to think too much of themselves.

Throughout history the human race has been faced with one key factor that no one civilization has even been able to beat, not the might of the Roman-Byzantine Empire, nor the combined efforts of the entirety of Europe and their scholars could defeat this recurring foe. Pandemics, from the Greek ‘pan’ meaning all, and ‘demos’ meaning people (Harper Etymonline.com), are these indiscriminate killers whom care not for your social standing be it wealth, fame, or glory. Humans have contested with disease ever since the infantile stages of the species, but the ability of it to spread was severely inhibited by the fact that humans stayed in small groups of 10-30 people at most, giving the virus or disease severely hampered virulence. It was not till humans began gathering in larger, more permanent settlements such as the early Classical cities of Athens, Ramses, and Rome, that the issue of sanitation and disease came into effect. This has not to say that our issues with sanitation and disease prevention have stopped, rather have they been brought forward into the limelight, many nations around the world today have issues with age old diseases and give rise to extremely deadly new viruses of their own. To fully understand the effect of pandemics in history, then one must consider three major plagues of our recorded history, the first pandemic ‘Plague of Athens’, the pivotal ‘Plague of Justinian’, and the infamous ‘Black Death’

The citizens of Rome needed to pay heavy taxes in order to finance Rome’s armies. The taxes weakened the economy making trades suffer. Farmers couldn’t compete with rich families leading for them to go into the city, hoping for work. Infamous emperors would waste money and crime rates rose, making the streets unsafe.

Ancient Imperial Rome had numerable, varying rulers due to its empire’s attributes. The empire’s vast-ranging territory, enormous economy, and diverse people enabled a variety of rulers to gain or lose popularity amongst numerous groups of varying ideals with ease. Caligula is one of the most infamous Roman emperors for dreadful reasons. As emperor, Caligula’s appalling actions and barbarous persona radiated throughout the nation and forever marred Rome’s name and his own. Caligula, the cruel, unpredictable ruler, was sworn in as emperor of Rome in the year 37 A.D.

What did it feel like to be in Ancient Rome? How did the Romans live? Ancient Rome was located on central Italy's Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. Most of the Romans’ lifestyle were Jobs, Armies, War, Food and Religion.

When was the last time you looked at a calendar? Did you know you were looking at an invention created in Ancient Rome? Ancient Rome was one of the biggest and greatest empires there was. People might not know about the beginning, the wars, the developments, their life, and the end of the Ancient Rome

Slide 1: My project is on Ancient Civilizations in Italy. My presentation will focus on Italy during the Roman Empire, the Reformation, and the Renaissance.

Rome is known as a mighty and powerful country throughout the nations. They have massively influenced art and architecture for decades to come. From their weapons to their brave characteristics, they have left their legacy to be remembered..

The ancient Romans had a great civilization and flourished for a long time. They grew a mass amount of healthy crops, were safe from attacks, and traded with other civilizations. But how was all of this possible? The mountains of Rome, Tiber river, and the Mediterranean Sea were all key in ancient Rome. Without these landforms, the ancient Romans couldn’t have survived the harsh life of the ancient civilizations.

Many ancient civilizations have had everlasting impacts on the modern world. It is Rome though that has had the most considerable and prominent influence when connecting both the ancient and modern world. Edited by Isabella Marinaro and Bjørn Thomassen, Global Rome: Changing Faces of the Eternal City introduces the idea that, “Rome is not only a system of economic interrelations or a knot in a hierarchy of world cities. In this symbolic and imaginary respect, Rome is first of all an icon, a brand, and a globally famous one” (29 Global Rome). To appreciate how Rome has been used as both an icon and brand throughout time, it is crucial to focus on the mythological stories that have been a prominent factor in defining the foundation of Rome. This

“St.Cyprian on Epidemic Disease in the Roman Empire” was written by St. Cyprian. In the source the argument is the plague epidemic is liberating Christians from the world filled with diseasing and pain. The author stated “The epidemic is a pestilence for the Jews and the pagans, but for the servant of God it’s a welcome event” . Many Christians weren’t afraid of the afterlife, they believed Christ will welcome them with open arms as a gift for their suffering. Those who follow Christ will have everlasting refreshment and protection. The source is questioning evil, and those who don’t believe God. For example, “It requires great loftiness to stand firm amidst the ruins of the human race, not to concede defeat with those who have no hope in God, but rather to rejoice and embrace the gift of the time” . The Christians during this time had to have a

Rome in the 3rd century AD was a “nation” in crisis. During this period we see a shift from the old, Italian dominated, ancient ways of antiquity into a new, more modern commonwealth where a vast number of its peoples were considered citizens, and could even aspire into prominent positions that were once reserved to leading Roman families. Initially, some of the changes that came to the Roman Empire sound good; indeed, I’m sure many Romans sometimes felt that way. However, when looking at the overall changes and the hardships that in brought on some of its people, one begins to see a very different picture develop. In order to better understand how the 3rd century contrasts from others one needs to take a small look at what life in the Roman Empire was like for people in early and late antiquity, under the republic and early empire and especially in the 2nd century. Without going into too much detail, the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire were dominated by Senators and Emperors that only came from dominating Roman/Italian families. Roman citizenship was a privilege that not everyone was able to enjoy. Rome was expanding its territorial power and beginning to define itself as the central power of the Mediterranean region. The 2nd Century AD was a golden age for the Roman Empire. In fact, this is the time period that is referred to as the happiest age known to man in Edward Gibbon’s book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Rome was in the middle of what is

The roman people started as a group of tribes ruled by a senate consisting of the fathers of the families (700 B.C.), with an elected king that commanded the army and performed certain religious rituals. There was also an assembly of all the roman citizens that could bear arms that was called the Comitia Curiata. The Comitia Curiata was the only assembly that could change laws, declare wars/peace, and confirm the election of kings. About a century later (~625 B.C.), Rome was divided into three different classes. There were the descendants of the original founders of rome, called Patricians. They were the only ones who had any power in the government. There were also Clients, who were free but had to serve a Patrician. They worked the fields